Tobacco opponents to show their love on Valentine's

INDIANAPOLIS - "Show your Love" will be the theme of a Valentines Day luncheon and capital witness to curb the use of tobacco in Indiana. The complimentary interfaith luncheon is scheduled to be held Monday, Feb. 14 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Christ Church Cathedral on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis.

The luncheon, sponsored by Tobacco Free Kids, is limited to 120 participants and will feature speakers and testimonials from a variety of faith group and health care leaders including United Methodists and the United Methodist-related Clarian Health Partners.

Following the luncheon, participants will be encouraged to walk or ride in complimentary vans to the capitol and speak with their Indiana State Senators and Representatives, asking them to help restore more than $20 million cut from the Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation agency budget.

In Indiana smoking kills more people each year than alcohol, AIDS, car crashes, illegal drugs, murders and suicides combined.

Hoosier Faith and Health Coalition leaders will present more than 300 common resolutions signed by congregations from across Indiana, including signatures from more than 60 United Methodist congregations, the South Indiana Conference Health and Welfare Committee and the SIC Parish Nurses.

ITPC, established by Tobacco Settlement Funds, educates and advocates for a smoke-free environments in Indiana through educational programs, tobacco cessation seminars and the www.whitelies.tv Internet presence directed to teens and young adult smokers.

Tobacco use figures for Indiana are staggering. According to ITPC surveys, one out of four Indiana adults and 23 percent of Hoosier high school students smoke, making Indiana one of the highest users of tobacco products in the United States. More than 10,000 Hoosiers die each year from their own smoking.

In Indiana, smoking kills more people each year than alcohol, AIDS, car crashes, illegal drugs, murders and suicides combined.

Indiana's 2003-2004 ITPC tobacco prevention spending was $10.8 million - a cut of two-thirds from amounts approved by the legislature for the previous budget. Currently Indiana ranks 26th among all states in spending for tobacco prevention. Coalition leaders say the dramatic cuts threaten progress in curbing smoking in Indiana, but specifically the cuts:

Halted planning for a statewide tobacco quit line,
Cut community programs by 30 percent,
Eliminated many statewide and pilot programs,
Cut statewide educational media efforts in half, and
Cut youth access enforcement by 60 percent.

According to the Hoosier Faith and Health Coalition, the state receives more than $125 million dollars each year from the tobacco industry as a result of the Master Settlement Agreement. The purpose of this settlement was to reduce tobacco-caused death and disease. Only a portion of the MSA funds need to be spent each year to fund a program that will deliver the lives and dollars saved by tobacco prevention programs in other states.

Pastors and United Methodist lay leaders are encouraged to participate in the "Show your Love" events on Feb. 14.

Last updated on 25 Apr 2008

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